Vocabulary for Describing Graph Trends

Word Part of Speech Example Sentence

increase
verb: to increase, is
increasing, has increased,
increased
Total
expenditureincreased from
$33,611m to $39,165m from
1995 to 1996.
noun: an increase
of$5,554m
an increase in spending
of $5,554m
From 1995 to 1996 there
was an increase
inexpenditure of $5,554m.
decrease
verb: to decrease, is
decreasing, has
decreased, decreased
Expenditure on primary
education decreasedfrom
22.2% to 21.5% from 1995 to
1996.
noun: a decrease
of0.7%
a decrease in spending
of 0.7%
From 1995 to 1996 there
was a decrease inexpenditure
of 0.7%.
rise
verb: to rise, is rising, has
risen, rose
Total expenditure rosefrom
$33,611m to $39,165m from
1995 to 1996.
noun: a rise of $5,554m
a rise in spending of
$5,554m
From 1995 to 1996 there
was a rise in expenditure of
$5,554m.
fall
verb: to fall, is falling, has
fallen, fell
Expenditure on primary
education fell from 22.2% to
21.5% from 1995 to 1996.
noun: a fall of 0.7%
a fall in spending of
0.7%
From 1995 to 1996 there
was a fall in expenditure of
0.7%.
drop
verb: to drop, is dropping,
has dropped, dropped
Expenditure on primary
education dropped from
22.2% to 21.5% from 1995 to
1996.
noun: a drop of 0.7%
a drop in spending of
0.7%
From 1995 to 1996 there
was a drop inexpenditure of
0.7%.
-ing
forms
After an introductory
clause that includes some
analysis; e.g. 'Spending
rose in all three years', an
'_ing' form can be used to
Spending rose in all three
years, increasing from 17.6%
to 18% from 1995 to 1996,
and then risingagain to 18.2%
in 1997-8.
describe numbers and
dates.

Practice
Have a look at the table below.
Then, to help you with describing graph trends, decide which word should go in the gap
in the example answer.
Expenditure on Education in Hong Kong 1995 to 1998
Breakdown of spending 1995-6 1996-7 1997-8
Total expenditure ($ million) 33,611 39,165 45,315
As % of government budget 17.6% 18% 18.2%
% spent on
primary education
secondary education
tertiary education

22.2%
33.7%
35.9%

21.5%
33.2%
36.7%

21.6%
33.5%
35.9%
Describing Graph Trends - Gap Fill
Public expenditure on education in Hong Kong (1) _____________ continuously from
1995 to 1998. In academic year 1995-6 it (2)_________________ HK$33,611 million,
(3)______________ to $39,165 million in 1996-7 and $45,315 million in 1997-8. As a
percentage of the governments budget spending on education also increased
(4)______ year, from 17.6% to 18% and then to 18.2%.
However, the percentage of expenditure spent on primary, secondary and tertiary
education did not show the same consistent (5)_______. In 1995-6 expenditure on
primary education was 22.2% of the education budget, 33.7% (6)_________ on
secondary, and 35.9% on tertiary.
In 1996, (7) ____________ of 0.8% in spending on tertiary education was finanaced
by a (8)_________ in spending of 0.7% in primary and 0.5% in secondary schooling.
In 1997-8 tertiary spending as a percent of the education budget (9)_________to its
1995-6 level. The percentage spent on primary education (10)__________ to 21.6%
and that on secondary to 33.5%, both figures being less than 1995-6 levels.
Choose the correct word to fit in the gap

1. increases
increased
increasing

2. was
rose to
reached

3. increased
dropping
rising

4. an increase
increased
increasing

5. rise
rose
rising

6. spent
spending
was spent

7. an increase
increase
was increased

8. increase
drop
dropped

9. dropped
increased
returned

10. rised
rose
increase